Florida vs. Georgia
The winner of this game should become the SEC East representative against Alabama in the conference’s title game, while the loser will probably not play in a BCS bowl game. Florida has revenge on their mind; they remember Georgia’s end-zone celebration from a year ago. Bulldogs coach Mark Richt ordered the entire bench on to the field after scoring their first touchdown in a 42-30 victory. Gators coach Urban Meyer was upset by the antics but has downplayed the animosity between the schools this week. You can expect fireworks on the field this Saturday at the Gator Bowl. National coverage will begin at 3:30 PM ET on CBS. Click here for the official Florida vs. Georgia smack thread.

Texas vs. Texas Tech
Texas is completing the final leg of their gauntlet schedule; they defeated: then-No.1 Oklahoma on Oct. 11, then-No. 11 Missouri on Oct. 18, then-No.7 Oklahoma State last week, and now face No. 6 Texas Tech in Lubbock on Saturday evening. Another week, another Heisman Trophy candidate will line up against the Longhorn defense. Red Raiders quarterback Graham Harrell has thrown for 3147 yards with 28 touchdown passes on the season. The winner of this contest will have the inside track to win the Big 12 South title, a division that features four teams ranked in the top nine of this week’s BCS bowl standings. National coverage will begin at 8PM ET on ABC. Click here for the official Texas vs. Texas Tech smack thread.

Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants
Dallas Cowboys had home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs last season, thanks in large part to a pair of victories over the New York Giants that propelled them to a NFC East title. But the Cowboys postseason run came to a quick end, as the Giants defeated them during their improbable run to a Super Bowl title. The Cowboys are hurting coming into this week’s game, with quarterback Tony Romo missing his third straight game because of a broken right pinkie and tight end Jason Witten will be a game-time playing decision due to his broken ribs. 40-year-old Brad Johnson will be in charge of the Cowboys offense, and he has looked his age at times on the field. He has been sacked six times in two weeks, and against a Giant defense that leads the NFL with 26 sacks, Johnson’s lack of mobility will be a major concern for the Dallas coaching staff. Regional coverage will begin at 4:15 PM ET on Fox.

It looks like Aaron Rodgers will be a Green Bay Packer for a while. The team locked him up through 2014.

“As we talked about in the past, we try to be proactive in our discussions with our current players and we felt like this was an appropriate time to try to come to an agreement with Aaron,” said General Manager Ted Thompson. “We feel like this is good for the organization and the players, and we will continue this approach as we move forward.”

Rodgers was the team’s first-round pick in 2005. He has started all seven games for Green Bay this season and has thrown for 1,668 yards and 12 touchdowns for a 98.8 passer rating.

I’m interested to see how much the contract is worth. By extending him at this point, the Packers presumably got Rodgers at a discount. We’ll see.

Given the circumstances, he has surpassed all expectations with his fine play. I’m a little worried about his durability (after all, I’m used to having the Man of Steel under center), but other than that, this looks like a great move for Green Bay. Rodgers was Ted Thompson’s first draft pick as GM of the Packers, so his loyalty to the QB is no surprise.

…which is a precursor to a stress fracture in his right shin. He’s out indefinitely and all he can do is rest.

According to ESPN medical analysist Dr. Michael Kaplan, the MRI likely showed increased uptake in tibia (leg bone) suggesting a stress reaction. An overload or overuse type phenomenon occurs with inflammation and, ultimately, fatigue failure with stress fracture. This is a precursor condition to stress fracture. A period of rest is mandatory for tissues to quiet down or worsening injury will result.

The school issued a statement saying there is no timetable for his return and no further information on the injury was available. Coach Roy Williams said he would have no comment until Friday after he meets with Hansbrough and the medical staff.

“I expect he’ll be healthy and play [this season],” Gene Hansbrough said. “It’s still too early to tell. They don’t even have an exhibition for a week.”

North Carolina sits atop both the AP and the ESPN/USA Today polls. In fact, the top four is the same in both polls: 1) UNC, 2) UConn 3) Louisville and 4) UCLA.

With some in the Garden crowd surprisingly chanting “We Want Steph” with 11:10 remaining in the fourth (others booed the chant), a stewing D’Antoni was caught on MSG Network cameras Wednesday in a tirade, mouthing:

“You’ve got to be (bleeping) kidding me. You’ve got to be (bleeping) kidding me. What a bunch of (bleep) holes.”

Welcome to the Big Apple, Mike.

Starbury has been a major distraction the last few seasons, and it’s going to be interesting to see how the Knicks deal with the final year remaining on his contract. If the chants keep up, they could just buy him out and send him home. They’re probably trying to move him, but who wants to take on his monster contract ($22 million)? Besides, whatever deal the Knicks could conceivably swing needs to include contracts that expire this season or next, as they are trying to clear cap space for the summer of 2010, when the LeBron James Sweepstakes could begin.